Croatia's small kingmaker party halts talks on new govt with leftist bloc

ZAGREB, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Croatia's small reformist Most
party on Tuesday renounced coalition talks with the outgoing
Social Democrats (SDP), saying it was trying to poach some of
its members, in the second month of squabbling since an
inconclusive election.

Most, meaning "bridge" in Croatian, holds 15 seats, enough
so that no party can form a cabinet without its support. Since
the Nov. 8 vote, Most has held talks with both the SDP and the
opposition conservative party HDZ.

President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic held a fourth round of
consultations with the parliamentary parties on Tuesday in the
hope of reaching a deal.

She is due to make an announcement later in the day on what
steps will be taken. If no one proves capable of forming a
government she must call a new election, although there is no
legal deadline for such a move.

Most leader Bozo Petrov said the Social Democrats (SDP) had
tried to convince some Most deputies to join them in the event
that talks on a coalition government fail. "We cannot have
confidence in such a partner," Petrov told reporters.

Prime Minister and the SDP leader Zoran Milanovic rejected
the accusation and said his party had accepted almost all of
Most's conditions for a future cabinet.

The November polls gave the main opposition conservative
HDZ party 59 seats in Zagreb's 151-seat parliament, three more
than Milanovic's centre-left bloc.

Croatia, the newest European Union member, is under pressure
from the bloc to enact reforms, including some to encourage
investment and restrain public debt, which is running close to
90 percent of gross domestic product.

Any prolonged delay in forming a government could hold up
these much-needed changes.

Most wants a reformist government comprising all three
parties, and a non-party, technocrat prime minister. However,
the party has also said it was ready to side with one of the
major parties if the other rejected its conditions.

The conservatives have rejected the trilateral talks but
said they could accept Most as a partner in the government.
Most, founded three years ago by municipal politicians and
independents, says it wants to overhaul Croatia's bloated public
sector, reduce debt and attract foreign investors.

"Most can hardly be seen as a credible partner as it has
changed attitude several times during the coalition talks."
political analyst Ivan Rimac said.

Croatia's economy is expected to grow around 1.5 percent
this year after it lost 13.1 percent of its overall output from
2009 to 2014.